at what age can a child keep themselves safe?

[Menroca16]

Long story...will keep brief. A professional has stated that my DD has to be 'of an age where we can reasonably expect her to act autonomously, keeping herself safe'. This follows their findings that my exp, her father, is not capable of doing so.

So, given that she is now 5yrs old, exp reckons he will now be 'fine' with her. What age would you rely on your child to ensure their own safety. For the record, I think 5 years old is WAY too young. Thoughts, ideas and scenarios/examples will be HUGELY appreciated.
Thanks
(a desperately seeking safety mum)

I suppose it depends on the individual child and their level of maturity. At 9 / 10 I was staying home alone, cooking, cleaning, washing and dressing myself, I had very good roadside and stranger awareness and thus would probably have been considered fine. However my DP's eldest (10 - almost 11) can't even get herself dressed without being handed her clothes and none stop nagging, doesn't brush her hair or teeth if not explicitly told she needs to do so despite being told several times a day every single day and can be really silly - I wouldn't trust her near any busy roads and she would probably kill herself if she tried to cook so in her case she would not be considered old enough.

I'm pretty sure it has to be done on a case by case basis and your DC would have to be assessed as to their competency. However I do agree that 5 is a bit too young regardless. Its hard to judge when not knowing how much she will be expected to do and why / what area's your ex is deemed incompetent in.